Dynamo welcome renewal of playoffs

Updated 10:21 pm, Monday, October 28, 2013

Dynamo fans cheer during the Impact's most recent visit to BBVA Compass Stadium on Oct. 4, when the Orange prevailed 1-0 on a goal by Ricardo Clark.

Dynamo fans cheer during the Impact's most recent visit to BBVA Compass Stadium on Oct. 4, when the Orange prevailed 1-0 on a goal by Ricardo Clark.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Staff

Dynamo welcome renewal of playoffs

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The last time the Dynamo walked off the BBVA Compass Stadium pitch, they were stunned.

Unlike after previous regular-season home finales, the Dynamo didn't take a victory lap. They didn't clap. They didn't thank the fans.

The Dynamo traditionally have used the final whistle of their last regular-season home game to show their appreciation to one of the most loyal fan bases in Major League Soccer. They hoped to make a similar gesture Oct. 20, but they were too shocked after the Red Bulls whipped them 3-0.

But they will get another opportunity Thursday night when, as the fourth seed, they host the fifth-seeded Montreal Impact in the Eastern Conference play-in match of the MLS playoffs.

A year after reaching the MLS Cup final as the fifth seed, the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions clinched the fourth seed on the final day.

The road to a third consecutive MLS Cup final promises to be difficult, though, because the top-seeded Red Bulls await the winner of Thursday's match.

Doesn't get easier

The Red Bulls (17-9-8), who earned the 2013 Supporters' Shield with the best record in MLS, have dominated the Dynamo this year, winning three games by a combined score of 9-1.

The Dynamo (14-11-9) have too much respect for the Impact (14-13-7) to waste time focusing on New York, but the last match against the Red Bulls is on their minds.

"Since I've been in Houston, usually on our last game at our home field, the players stay on the field, and you walk around the field and thank the fans," center back Bobby Boswell said. "We were almost like in shell shock, and we just walked off the field, and guys didn't do that.

"In a way, it's a great thing that we made the playoffs and get to host and get to thank the fans, which we didn't do at the end of the season, which I was really let down about."

The Red Bulls and the Impact handed the Dynamo their most stunning defeats of the year. Sporting Kansas City, the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed, handed the Dynamo the club's other tough defeat May 12 when it claimed a 1-0 victory to snap the Dynamo's MLS-record 36-game home unbeaten streak.

The Dynamo are 1-2 against the Impact this year, with each team winning at home. Montreal beat the Dynamo 2-0 at Stade Saputo on June 19, then handed Dominic Kinnear's club the worst loss in franchise history with a 5-0 rout Aug. 24. The Dynamo atoned with a 1-0 victory Oct. 4 at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Home-field edge

"At the time when we beat them, I said this is kind of a big message," Boswell said. "I said that if it came to a play-in, I think home-field advantage would be huge. I think they're a much different team playing in front of their fans, as we are playing at home instead of the road."

The Dynamo were the fifth seed last Halloween when they visited the fourth-seeded Chicago Fire, who didn't have much of a crowd during that play-in match at Toyota Park.

Now the Dynamo hope their fans spend Halloween at BBVA Compass Stadium.

"It's a great thing for our fans and our team," right back Kofi Sarkodie said. "We have a great opportunity at another run at the MLS Cup, and we start off here at home with the city of Houston at our back."

So Boswell and his teammates will get another chance to acknowledge their supporters.

"We do want to thank our fans," Boswell said. "This gives us another opportunity to play in front of them and end it on a better note and this time take a lap of honor and thank our loyal supporters."